THE Royal British Legion (RBL) Club in Hereford is set to be sold, because it cannot find "recruits" to run it.

Trustees of the club, in Belmont Road, have foreclosed on its lease and recommended putting the property on the market.

Built in the 1950s by public subscription and fund-raising, the club ceased trading earlier this year.

RBL county chairman Don Rule said that the trustees took advice from RBL HQ in London before foreclosing on the lease and making their recommendation to sell.

Mr Rule said the club - the base for the Hereford city RBL branch with around 200 members - had for some time found it difficult to recruit volunteers to make up its management.

"These are big responsibilities, but it seems clubs were something for my generation," said Mr Rule.

The trustees were looking at residential development on the site as an option, he said.

l More and more of Herefordshire's surviving Second World War veterans are coming to the RBL to claim special badges saluting their service.

Mr Rule said that around 100 requests for the lapel badges had come in since they featured in the Hereford Times earlier this month.

The badges are free and carry the simple logo HM Armed Forces Veteran topped with a crown.

Mr Rule said that 40 veterans would be presented with their badges at a remembrance service in Hereford Cathedral to mark the 60th anniversary of the war's end.